Lebaran Invigorates Small Businesses and Local Tourism

Micro, small and medium businesses and rural tourist destinations in the regions have experienced a surge in visitors as well as an economic spillover during this year’s long Lebaran holiday.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

A seller grills fish at a restaurant on the coast of the Indramayu north coast road (pantura) in Eretan, Kandanghaur District, Indramayu Regency, West Java, Friday (22/4/2022).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The government's decision to allow mudik (exodus) to celebrate Idul Fitri 2022 – or Idul Fitri 1443 Hijriah according to the Islamic lunar calendar – thanks to Covid-19 transmissions being under better control, has helped reinvigorate micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and local communities in tourist villages. They have welcomed the recent conditions as nearly back to as normal, as they were before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ikan Bakar Laut Eretan, a grilled fish and seafood restaurant in Kandanghaur district, Indramayu regency, West Java, saw an overwhelming number of motorcyclists who stopped by to rest and eat while journeying on mudik to celebrate Lebaran in their hometowns.

"Even though we hadn’t opened yet, many [customers] were knocking on the door, asking for coffee," restaurant owner Endar (44) said on Thursday (5/5/2022).

The number of customers increased significantly on Tuesday (3/5), the second day of Lebaran, and had to queue before they were escorted to their tables in the 100-seat restaurant.

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Due to the large number of customers, Endar once ran out of fish, which he had stockpiled four quintals of mostly snapper, grouper, etong (starry triggerfish) and pomfret. Fortunately, the fish supplier arrived on time, he said.

He also had to call in additional employees to increase the service staff from three on normal days to 15. His restaurant appears to be thriving. Even during the pandemic, he made over Rp 5 million each day. During the Lebaran holiday, the restaurant’s daily income ballooned to Rp 20 million.

The batik sector in Cirebon, West Java, has also experienced a boon, according Gunisa, who runs the Batik Nefa shop at the Trusmi Batik Market. He said during the mudik period, most of his customers were local residents, while during the return mudik travel, most were from out of town. "Customers can enjoy food at the culinary center in the vicinity before browsing batik," he said.

KOMPAS/WINDORO ADI

Various Ciwaringin batik motifs from Cirebon Regency, West Java..

During this year's Lebaran, batik sales reportedly increased 50 percent compared to sales during the peak of the pandemic.

In Karangrejo village of Borobudur district, Magelang regency, Central Java, Gubuk Kopi, a cafe popular among tourists for its specialty coffee served with brown sugar, has seen visitor traffic increase to equal pre-pandemic figures, averaging more than 1,000 customers each day. "Thousands of customers continued to flow in from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.," said owner Agus Prayitno.

Customers can enjoy fresh coffee or tea at Gubuk Kopi while munching on a bar of coconut sugar made from local produce. Customers can also join an educational tour to learn about how the sugar is produced, which has been the livelihood of local farmers for generations.

The increase in visitor traffic has boosted the daily turnover of coconut sugar to between Rp 5 million and Rp 6 million. It has also had a significant impact on sales of local handicrafts, such as batik and cobek (mortar).

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Still in Borobudur district, the increased number of customers was also seen at a number of tourist villages developed as corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects under the integrated Village Economy Hall (Balkondes) concept.

One of these is Balkondes Ngaran restaurant in Borobudur village, which has welcomed 400 visitors per day for the last three days. Its turnover reached Rp 5 million-Rp 7 million per day, while the Balkondes homestay raked in some Rp 10 million per day.

As with Gubuk Kopi, Balkondes Ngaran appears to have returned to normal, similar to its pre-pandemic conditions, according to site supervisor Sugiarto.

KOMPAS/REGINA RUKMORINI

Agus Prayitno arranged additional space provided for guests to visit and enjoy village-style coffee, tea and coconut sugar at the Borobudur Coffee Gubuk, Karangrejo Village, Borobudur District, Magelang Regency.

Tourist villages

The Pokdarwis (tourism awareness group) managing the Nglanggeran tourist village in Patuk district, Gunung Kidul regency, Yogyakarta, also reported an upturn in economic activities. The group manages a recreational destination called Puncak Gunung Api Purba Nglanggeran, located 700 meters above sea level at the peak of a volcano.

Pokdarwis head Mursidi said the number of tourists had begun to increase before Lebaran, from around 50 people to 150 people per day.

Visitor traffic soared over the long Lebaran holiday, from 500 visitors on the second day of Idul Fitri (3/5) to more than 1,000 visitors on Wednesday (4/5).

"Our hope is that more visitors will come to the tourist village. It will be great if the number exceeds the [figure] before the Covid-19 pandemic," said Mursidi.

The revival in tourist arrivals was also felt at the Pujon Kidul tourist village in Malang, East Java. One popular spot is Cafe Sawah, where visitors can relish local specialties amid rice fields against a backdrop of a mountain range.

What's interesting about this year's Lebaran holiday is that tourist villages have begun to attract large numbers of visitors.

Pujon Kidul village head Udi Hartoko said some 1,000 customers visited Cafe Sawah on Monday (2/5), followed by 2,500 on Tuesday (3/5), and 3,700 on Wednesday. Last year, the largest number of visitors the cafe saw in a day was around 2,000 people.

The figure was still well below that during the pre-pandemic period, which could reach some 5,000 people per day. However, Udi was optimistic about the future. "With the easing [of restrictions], [visitor numbers] will continue to rise," he said.

Sarman Simanjorang, the deputy chairman of regional autonomy development at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), estimated money circulation of around Rp 42 trillion, assuming that each family going on mudik for Lebaran spent Rp 1.5 million. The total was calculated based on an estimate from a Transportation Ministry survey (Kompas, 4/5/2022) that 85 million people would be going on mudik this year, or approximately 28 million families, with an average family consisting of three members.

Sinoeng Noegroho Rachmadi, head of the Central Java Youth, Sports and Tourism Office, rural tourism to tourist villages had gained popularity, in addition to a number of famous destinations.

"What's interesting about this year's Lebaran holiday is that tourist villages have begun to attract large numbers of visitors," he said.

Around 70 percent of visitors preferred tourist villages that offered natural attractions, such as beaches, mountains, rice fields, rivers and waterfalls. (NAD/EGI/NCA/WER/XTI)

This article was translated by Musthofid.